Legacies of Sr. Madeleva Wolff, CSC

Sr. Mary Madeleva Wolff, CSC (1887–1964) was the third president of Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, and an influential figure in American Catholic religious life, theological education, women's higher education, and poetry. The essays in this multi-disciplinary volume explore the various and sometimes disparate roles Madeleva embodied in life and occupies in the collective memory of American Catholics today. Its authors ask: What are the lasting legacies of Sr. Madeleva? What do these legacies tell us about the communities that continue to commemorate her? And what can Madeleva's legacies teach us about navigating the realities of today's world? Together they offer inventive perspectives on the rich and complex legacies of Sr. Madeleva as well as American Catholic life today. “Warmest congratulations and thanks to the authors and editors for this compelling portrait of Sister Madeleva, a woman who has too often been either misunderstood or overlooked. This sympathetic and sensitive study makes clear her enduring impact as a sister, scholar, poet, professor, and leader—a model and inspiration for us all." —Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Rev. John A. O'Brien Collegiate Professor of American Studies and History, University of Notre Dame, Indiana Jessica Coblentz is associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, IN, and earned her PhD in systematic theology at Boston College. Susan Mancino is assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies, Dance, and Theatre at St. Mary's College. She earned her PhD in rhetoric at Duquesne University.